Bypass a monster built for out-of-towners

Having followed our recent spate of contentious public works issues, i.e., reservoir use, Bypass, Belmont Bridge, I wish to join the ranks of those who have said THANKYOU, to the Hook for keeping a free press going in Mr. Jefferson’s hometown.

Sadly, we have a core of City and County reps who are clearly operating from a "bigger is better" playbook, that also contains an extensive chapter on bypassing pesky public opposition.

Mr. Salzman’s piece in last week’s issue ["Studies show.... Bypass to use Greer kids as guinea pigs"] demonstrates that the Bypass is a freeway that will accomplish what freeways always accomplish: it will cost a lot of money, divide our city/county communities not unite them, will be ugly, and will ignore far more elegant solutions: multi-purpose parking garages with kid-friendly gardens on top in Greene and Fluvanna counties, paired with low cost transit service to C’ville with weekend long free bus passes for example, along with the Places 29 recommendations.

The western Bypass’s actual purpose is to provide easy access to and from our sports and entertainment mega center for out-of-towners.

A hidden cost will be the need for a big upgrade in law enforcement presence. With a worldwide surge in abductions, the teams that operate on the ground for this sordid and lucrative industry, usually containing a female member will have a quick and efficient means to leave town with their prey without needing to wait out stoplights.

This monster project with its amazing, accordion-like cost-increase feature will just keep on costing in more ways than one. Reminds me of the thousands of polluting, steel and concrete wrecks that now litter the Eurasian continent, products of well-oiled Party systems that were an oligarch’s paradise.

1 comment

jebmeister May 18th, 2012 | 2:12am

I have been commuting from points South up the US29 corridor to points North for more than 33 years. And back again. The monstrosity that C'ville wreaked upon its denizens, (and perhaps its associated crime stats), was committed long ago via planning (or lack thereof). In fact, it was during the JFK administration that I-64 (originally planned as an East-West corridor between Tidewater and Bristol -- for which there STILL is no easy route), was re-routed by a JFK C'ville buddy to go through C'ville to I-81, and then to nowhere. When you got the Interstate, you got the commerce and the traffic and the associated crime. (Look at any VA State Police Crime Map along Interstates.) The Danville By-Pass is a beautiful thing. As is Lynchburg's. And most other bypasses from NC to DC. The fact remains that you all long ago created a mess for yourselves and anyone passing through C'ville along Bus 29/250, and you should be embarrassed. If you will be honest, even YOU hate to deal with it. Planners might have looked at how Columbus, OH builds service roads for business access that run parallel to major arteries. But it's far too late for that -- you'd have to bring in the bulldozers. What the world needs is a way AROUND the mess you created -- both for locals and we 'out-of-towners' who have found several ways around your mess, but don't tell the beautiful horse people.

Nobody wants a bypass in "their" backyard, because their estate is more beautiful than the next one. It would be a shame to damage a single historic estate or a viewshed, but what most Virginians want and need is a way AROUND the mess you made for yourselves long ago -- for which you have already taken millions of dollars in state and federal money -- and from which their is still no escape.